If you were to meet
by JackalChan
Summary: You're a young apprentice living in Menethil Harbor when you meet a group of Trolls in the wetlands...a short story for all you amazing writers!


Note: World of Warcraft doesn't not belong to me…sadly…

Alright so I got this idea from my writing idol, LuValentine 3 and her story describing her character to get people to draw her…well being an Art major, the art isn't my issue its writing that seems to be my lacking department

So I wrote this challenge hoping that all you amazing authors would like to write for me, one shots, add them to your ongoing stories, past, present, future…it's all great 3 ((I'm willing to offer some fan art in return of course!! You can see Aiji at CrackHappens on Deviantart))

The story is written from your point of view if you were a young apprentice living in Menethil Harbor.

So here they are, my OCs…and no flames please, I know my writing is lacking…

It's raining.

Perfect…

You roll your eyes as you trudge through the murk and damp marshy soil of the Wetlands. Your teacher's voice and livid face still fresh in your mind's eye.

"I turn around for one second and my entire case of ink is gone, damn those infernal Merlocs!" he called your name, you looked up from your writing, "go make yourself useful and get my ink back!"

The muscles in your legs are aching now, you're not even sure how long you've been wandering seemingly aimlessly among the wet grass and cattail fronds.

No sign of any Merlocs, let alone a Merloc settlement where the fish people would have taken any sort of stolen item.

The rain is pouring now, unnaturally cold for this time of year. Chilly drops pelt you all over. You don't notice the edge of the path is starting to crumble, you hardly have time to acknowledge that you're falling before you're lying in a prone position, nose to nose with a gigantic, hissing Crocolisk. The beast's eyes bulge with madness, it opens its great maw to snap down on your sudden intrusion into its territory.

No time to move you squeeze your eyes shut, await the pain but it doesn't come. There's a pressure around your upper arms, a pair of strong hands, pulls you backwards. You hear a grunt of pain and then a dull thud...

You open your eyes, the beast is dead, an enormous axe embedded right behind its head, severing the spine. The hands holding you up release, allowing you to turn, your oncoming wave of panic subsides when you come face to face with familiar features, thank the light, a human woman. The relief you feel, however, is short-lived. On either side of the woman are two male Trolls, and another beside you, dragging the crocolisk from the swampy pool.

You stand totally still, trying to remember how to breathe, you take in the copper-skinned woman in front of you. Her hair is reddish-bronze, waist long, dreadlocked except for the bangs framing her cherubic face, and streaked with strands of bun-bleached platinum; Her blue eyes peering at you with amused patience.

Their prisoner?

No, that doesn't seem right, she isn't bound in any way. You look harder, from her hair to her necklaces of claws and bones, to the tattered hooded robe, she looks completely wild. You swallow hard as the realization strikes you; she's _WITH _them.

The Troll to her immediate left grins at you, his shocking green Mohawk quivering in what you suppose is restrained laughter. There's a half-healing crescent of punctures on his forearm…your rescuer…his skin has a purplish cast to it and the daggers at his hips are an easy giveaway to his class. The Rogue is the first to speak, to your surprise, its common. His voice is oddly pleasant

"No fear, ya be safe now."

You try to speak, your voice fails, you try again and thank them shakily. The male dragging the beast grunts, turning his steely glare from you to the sky.

"Getting' dark" The one who spoke before states, he gets a nod from the human. You mentally shake your head, comparing her to a human feels like comparing a tiger to a house cat.

"Ya come wit us, it be dange'rous at night…an also…"

You're moving along with them without even realizing. A devious tugs the corners of his lips as you walk "We been lookin' fo some'one ta join us fo dinnah"

A thrill of fear rises up your spine before the dark skinned female elbows him out of the way and takes your hand,

"Dun pay no mind ta mah brotha, his 'ead be fulla hot air" she says, speaking for the first time in the same thick island accent as the laughing Rogue. "We Longtusk mean ya no harm."

She introduces herself as Aiji, the talkative one as her brother, Ze'Brashi, and the other two as Shadd, the serious faced Troll to her right with his hand on her waist, unlike the other two males whose tusks curl upwards, his left tusk straight and jutting forward from his mouth, the other a painful looking break an inch from his lips. The hand on her hip flexes protectively as he looks you over.

The other male, the massive, red-headed, axe-wielding, warrior dragging the dead croc is introduced as Raz'ik. He turns his head and studiously ignores you. You have trouble focusing on them at the moment however, there's something tugging at your mind…

Aiji's words.

Longtusk?

The name sounds familiar…

You think back to the traveling soldiers' stories you've heard in the tavern back home. Two years ago, faulty intelligence led the army to totally wiping out a big Troll village, bigger than Zul'Garub or even the Amani Empire in the mountains of the Barrens. It turned out not to be the Horde outpost the army was meant to be raiding. You recall how the soldiers were confused at Lady Proudmore's anger.

Trolls were just horrible Trolls right?

As you draw nearer to your new friends little camp suddenly that doesn't seem as much of a fact to you now as it had back then…you gulp and pray these friendly terms stay this way.

Three more trolls sit around the small cook fire, the largest, a light-blue haired male whose size easily rivals the other warrior. Beside him sits a modestly sized sword, but perhaps it only seems smaller and less threatening because it lacks the tight grip and readiness to use that the red-head is giving his axe.

His face is calm, unsurprised, the face of a man who could fight a thousand battles and never bat an eye. Sitting near him is a female, small and petite, her face turned in your direction, her sightless white eyes staring straight forward, focusing on nothing. She murmurs something to the man, her eyebrows knitted in worry. The pair looks so familiar they must be related somehow. The last is a youth, lanky and painfully thin, the way boys look after they've grown a lot in a short period of time. His hair a shock of white falling into his eyes, tiny tusks curling slightly past his lips.

Aiji leads you to sit with them, you learn their names, Demi'hi, Alli'cha, and Tan'tuk.

You watch the dynamics of the little tribe carefully and realize you weren't completely correct in your earlier assumption, Aiji wasn't just _with _them, she _is_ them. The others situate around her, food is exchanged, a smoky, savory type of mean that you accept with no questions, sometimes it is better just not to know. As the meal draws to an end Aiji places some sweet-smelling incense into the fire and leans back, you drive up your courage and ask about the Longtusks.

The warrior called Raz'ik barks something hatefully at you, you flinch and Aiji raises her hand.

"Curiosity not be a crime, Raz" She smiles and turns her attention to you "Many generation ago, mah people wan'der, following da magratin' oasis. At dat time dey have no…" She pauses, tapping her cheek in thought.

"Tusk." The one with the broken tusk, Shadd, supplies.

"Yah, dey have no tusk," Aiji continues, closing her eyes, you sit back, feeling strangely at ease despite the company around you, the incense sweet and lingering, Aiji's voice becomes hypnotic "Dey follow oasis to Misty Basin…dat be high high in mountains, Dere young Sha'mon connect an speak to da oasis, she ask it ta stay an promised dat her people would honor it. Oasis agree an finally da people could settle. Da Elders make dat Sha'mon, Mah motha's great…great great grandmotha, head of tribe." Aiji smiles and sighs slightly. "Afta tha settle…da male's tusk grow again, Elders name tribe Longtusk" She opens her eyes, her face is calm but the others look apprehensive.

You have the feeling that you're the first to ever hear this sort of thing.

You're feeling bold now, you want to know Aiji's story, you want to know how a human could come to live with these Trolls…these people this way. Your curiosity drives you to ask…

"Mah story?" There's a laugh in her voice, her eyes bright with amusement, she remains silent for a long moment, you start to wonder if she's going to answer, she places another piece of incense into the fire.

"Ah was orphan, got lost in Barrens, chased by many beast. Lish'ah, great Sha'mon of Longtusk find meh an raise meh 'long wit dis one," She nudges Ze'brashi affectionately, the frowns slightly in thought "Few years latah, outcast shadowhunta show up an cause trouble, hate Aiji and force her ta see what she really be"

"Ah didn' hate cha" Shadd cuts in indignantly "Ah jus didn' know how ta ex'press mah feelins'"

Aiji laughs "shaoa, shoa…" She pushes his face away gently "Latah hu'mon come, big army of hu'mon…Longtusk not ready for such big fight, thought we was safe in da valley, away from da senseless fighin'…Hu'mon kill many, take Aiji to live in town wit ways dat were not right, make wo'man cook an clean an all da time beatin' dem" The male's faces turn stony, as if the mention of these things are openly offensive to them "Aiji rescued by Brashi, come back home an…" her voice falters.

"We all dat's left" The Somber faced warrior, the one Aiji called Demi'hi concludes.

You blink, the trance like state you've been in lifts, you look at the faces around you, the group you had once found frightening now looks weathered and small, the remnants of a once strong, but peaceful people.

Its really dark now, the only light is from the fire beside you, as the others settle in for the night, you remain awake, talking into the night with Aiji. She tells of their valley, a hidden place in a huge dormant volcanic crater, she speaks of grey leopards and brown raptors, she tells of the trials of becoming a Shaman, how she stood on a canyon ledge without moving for seven days to master speaking to the winds, and of how they'll return there once they find the oasis that began traveling once again after the remaining Longtusk had no choice but to abandon their home. You wonder vaguely what the tiny woman plans to do with the oasis once they locate it.

Your head and eyes feel so heavy…

You're sure no one will notice if you close your eyes for just a moment…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Lass?......Lass!!" Something jostles you roughly.

You jerk awake.

You're staring up a long busy beard, it's a dwarf in plate armor, you stand quickly.

You're back at the guard station of Menethil Harbor, wrapped around you is a soft leather blanket, curiously shaped like a long six legged animal. You take a step towards the entrance.

"Wait a tic Lass, yer forgettin; yer crate"

Crate? You turn, the dwarf places the wooden box in your hands and grumbles about "dumb gold-grabbin questers" before returning to his post. You look in the box, it's the ink, every bottle untouched. You smile and look back out at the wetlands one last time.

You take the crate back to your teacher, breezing past him and returning the box without a word you go to your room, sit at your desk and pull out some parchment.

You place your quill into your ink and put it to the paper.

You begin to write…

~*~And the end is all up to you~*~

Note: And that's that, I'm adding a list of details that didn't make it into the story for those of you who like more details 3

~Aiji and Shadd are mates, the became mates after Aiji returned ((and for those of you who like adding kids to their story, they later have two children, a boy named Tah'li and a girl named Cer'ci))

~Raz and Alli are mates ((Alli can't have children))

~Raz challenges Aiji's authority on a regular basis

~Aiji bests him every time by easily dodging his axe, kicking his feet out from under him, and then stepping on his head

~By Longtusk law getting your opponent into that "Submission" position means a victory

~It is against Longtusk law to strike a woman ((Expect in a duel situation and even then a barehanded blow is grounds for being cast out of the tribe))

~One member of the tribe is missing from this story, his name is Vit'ri, a mage who is with his Blood Elf mate Lirehana trying to track down her missing little brother

~Aiji cannot turn into a spirit wolf despite being a Shaman

~The Longtusk frown on war and worship the Loa (Troll God) named Reesh, who is a mother goddess, which also led them to have a matriarchal type of society

~Aiji and Ze'brashi were both raised by the Shaman Lish'ah, Aiji took Lish'ah's place at the head of the tribe after Lish'ah's death in the battle

~Shadd isn't Longtusk by birth, he was adopted in after he was cast out of the Shatterspear tribe for not wanting to join the pointless fighting of the Horde

~Aiji lived in the human town for 6 months before Ze'brashi rescued her, she learned common and stayed there that long because she believed everyone to be dead

~Shadd's tusk was broken in his attempt to protect Aiji, because he refused to see a healer after she was taken, it will never grow back

~All Longtusk men have a prominent curl to their tusks

~*~For those of you accepting this challenge, if you'd like to make some OCs mates for my un-mated men ((Demi'hi the warrior, Ze'brashi the Rogue, Tan'tuk the priest)) I would totally love it, these poor guys are all alone~*~

And that's really the end, thank you so much for reading!!!

((you can reach me with any questions at or as SuicideJanks on AIM))


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